- Law No. 7 of 2006 — Real Property Registration. Establishes the property register in Dubai and who may own where, including the designated areas open to foreign ownership. Title is what the register says it is.
- Law No. 16 of 2007 — RERA. Creates the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, the sector’s regulator inside DLD’s orbit — brokers, projects, and the machinery of oversight.
- Law No. 8 of 2007 — Escrow (Trust) Accounts. Requires off-plan sale proceeds into project escrow accounts, releasing funds against construction — the core buyer protection in off-plan.
- Law No. 13 of 2008 (as amended) — Interim Property Register. Governs off-plan sales and their registration (the Oqood layer), and the tiered regime that applies when an off-plan contract is terminated — the retention tiers
by construction stage are set in the statute.
- Law No. 14 of 2008 — Mortgages. The registration and enforcement frame for property finance in Dubai; a mortgage exists as a registered right, which is why discharge is a register event, not a bank letter.
- Law No. 26 of 2007, amended by Law No. 33 of 2008 — Tenancy. The landlord-and-tenant code: renewal, eviction grounds and notice, and the balance of obligations.
- Decree No. 43 of 2013 — Rent Increases. The slab system tying permissible increases to the gap between the current rent and the market index.
- Decree No. 26 of 2013 — Rental Dispute Centre. Establishes the RDC as the judicial arm for tenancy disputes, with its own stages, fees and enforcement.
- Law No. 6 of 2019 — Jointly Owned Property. Owners’ rights and obligations in shared buildings and communities: service charges, management, and the committees that represent owners.
Above these sits the federal layer — the Civil Code’s rules on agency and contract, and the personal-status framework that shapes inheritance, including the elections available to non-Muslim owners. The explainers on this site take
each area in turn.
Last updated: 28 July 2026 · Editorial method